Putter

ABSTRACT

Putter of which the sole surface of the putter head is made of low friction material such as Teflon is disclosed. This allows the golfer to putt by comfortably gliding the sole of the putter head while looking at the target rather than the ball.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a putter that allows the golfer to putt by comfortably gliding the sole of the putter head while looking at the target rather than the ball.

2. Description of the Related Arts

The golf is a target game. When the ball in play rests on a green, the golfer putts it with a putter to roll it into the hole. Prior to this action, the golfer would look at the green carefully in order to judge how the ball would roll on the green. Then he would putt the ball, while staring at the putter head and the ball, to roll it toward the target point, which is in his memory, without looking at it. That is, the golfer does not look at the target at the final and decisive stage of this target game. For putting, the golfer relies on the geometrical relation of the ball and the green condition that is in his memory, and concentrates on the input by the putter to initiate the ball to roll. This action is quite in contrast to most of other games in sports in which the player would concentrate on the target rather than the input. A baseball pitcher, for example, would stare at the catcher's mitt rather than the ball in his hand at the moment he pitches it. A basketball player, for another example, would stare at the basket at the moment he makes whether an acrobatic shoot or a free throw rather than looking at the ball he has in his hand. Such examples are numerous in other target games, such as dart game, bowling, and so forth. In these games, the player would shoot the target point by the use of his hand-eye coordination rather than mechanical motion for the input engineered on the basis of geometry in his memory. Further additional example is that, when one tries to pitch a trash in a trash can which is-several feet away from him, he would feel the weight of the trash and the distance to the trash can and adjust the way he pitch it whether it be a crashed paper cup or a juice bottle. In this case, again, his hand-eye coordination is at work. In the present invention, the golfer is introduced to a novel putting method that is target-oriented as opposed to the conventional putting method that is input-oriented. The term T-P method (trash-pitch method) has been coined tentatively for the aforesaid reasons.

Consequently, the present invention relates to a putter that is quite suitable for putting by the T-P method by which the putting is carried out in a target-oriented way rather than the conventional input-oriented way. As described in the foregoing, there are clearly two different skills required for good putting. One is how to read the green, and another is how to roll the ball toward the desired direction in the desired distance as closely as possible. Obviously, the present invention focuses only on the latter skill.

As described in the foregoing, geometrical relations are highly emphasized in the conventional putting, and in setting up, for example, importance of correct stance and geometrical relation of the eyes and the ball to be putted is emphasized, and how to swing the putter is taught in detail. In other words, it is emphasized that the motion of the golfer at the final stage of this target game is rigid and mechanical. This is inevitable in the conventional putting since the golfer's intention is to follow exactly the putting line toward the target in his memory. For example, when he aims at the target hole 10 feet straight away from his ball, the ball has to be rolled for the initial 1 foot within the maximum deviation of 0.4 inch. Apparently, this is not an easy task to perform even for PGA tour professionals, and just by watching their tournaments on TV, we can see many of them once in a while change putters to those of different design or change the way they grip putters, obviously in an effort to perform the aforesaid task more desirably and accurately. According to the putting by the T-P method in the present invention, the golfer would be liberated from the aforesaid rigid machine-like motion, and would reclaim his athletic instinct.

Namely, according to the putting by the T-P method in the present invention, the golfer's eyes would be focused on the target point rather than the putter head and the ball when he putts on the green.

There are reasons why the golfer concentrates on input rather than the target in the conventional putting method. The ball is not in his hand but on the ground, and he has to hit it with a putter head that is attached to the shaft of 30 inches plus long from his hand. He can be sure to hit the ball “correctly” at the sweet spot of the putter head by looking at the ball and the putter head. If he attempts putting while staring at the target without looking at the ball and the putter head, he might sclaff the ground before hitting the ball or top the ball, and these experiences would be bad enough to discourage him from further attempting for the target-oriented putting. However, a baseball pitcher would experience the similar situation when he, for the first time, attempts pitching knuckle ball, sinker ball, and the like, for which he has to hold the ball quite differently from the way he would have been used to. The baseball pitcher would overcome such difficulty in holding the ball differently for pitching strikes by intensive practice. The present inventor has been in the belief that a golfer would also be able to overcome the difficulty in “putting while staring at the target without looking at the ball and the putter head” by intensive practice. With this belief, the present inventor has for more than several years attempted and practiced such putting while staring at the target without looking at the ball and the putter head, and he has been convinced that such putting by the T-P method is truly realizable. The golfer need to practice intensively, but it is believed that the putting by the T-P method is more trainable for improvement than the conventional input-oriented putting, since the golfer could apply his athletic instinct in this target-oriented putting that requires his hand-eye coordination rather than the mechanical motion on the basis of memorized geometry in the conventional putting. Incidentally, such a target-oriented putting was described in an article of Golf Magazine recently (“The New Way to Putt”, page 95-99, October 2005), in which the advantage of this putting was introduced with some statistical data.

For putting by the T-P method, how the golfer would address at the ball or how he would swing the putter is secondary and he can choose the way he would feel comfortable with as long as he can roll the ball toward the target he is staring at. This is like the fact that many good baseball pitchers show different pitching forms and styles. However, the present inventor has noticed a subtle but significant difference in the motion of the putter head between in the conventional putting and in the putting by the T-P method. Namely, in the conventional putting the putter head of a golfer would draw an arc of which the plane is closer to vertical by the golfer's attempt to keep the face of the putter head perpendicular to the line chosen according to his memory, whereas in the putting by the T-P method the putter head of a golfer may draw an arc of which the plane is closer to horizontal, and the face of the putter head might be opened during the back swing and closed in the finish, such that in the latter case the motion is something like a sidearm stroke in the baseball pitching. Although in the case of putting by the T-P method a golfer would putts the ball toward the target of his choice by his hand-eye coordination, the present inventor found it easier to swing the putter in such a manner that the putter head draw an arc of which the plane is parallel to the green surface in order to minimize the chance of unexpected sclaffing of the ground. Such a swing is also useful to liberate the golfer's mind from the adherence to the geometrical relation between the putter head and the putting line, since this relation would not be maintained once the face of the putter head is opened at the start of the back swing for putting by the T-P method. In the forward swing, the golfer would simply concentrate on rolling the ball toward the target at which he is staring. As described in the foregoing, the golfer has to practice rather intensively in order to feel sufficiently comfortable with such unconventional putting by the T-P method. However, it is the present inventor's belief that such unconventional putting is the only way for the golfer to reclaim his hand-eye coordination and liberate him from the mechanical and geometrical constraint in the putting motion, such that his putting ability could be improved to a next level.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present inventor found that such putting by the T-P method could be even easier in some cases by placing the putter head on the green surface from the address through the impact. Namely, in this case the golfer touches the green surface lightly with his putter head from the address through the impact such that he glides the sole of the putter head over the green surface for putting. The green surface should not be pressed with any more than the weight of the putter. If the green is maintained smooth and slick enough to allow gliding the sole of the putter head, the golfer may putt the ball by gliding the sole of the putter head directly on the ground from the start of the back swing through the impact and sometimes even beyond in the putting by the T-P method. In putting by gliding the putter head on the green surface, the motion of the putter head is reduced to two-dimensional (as opposed to the conventional putting in which the motion of the putter head is inevitably three-dimensional) since the vertical component of the putter head motion is virtually eliminated. In such a situation, the golfer obviously would not worry about possible sclaffing or topping during putting since the putter head is on the ground to begin with, and thus, can further concentrate on the target that he is staring at. In fact, the present inventor experienced that such gliding of the sole of the putter head through putting by the T-P method is particularly effective for a rather short putt such as the one less than ten feet. As the putting distance becomes longer and thus the swing arc becomes larger, intended accuracy of the putting by gliding the sole of the putter head is often disturbed by small bumps on the green that impedes the putting stroke. Consequently, an object of the present invention is to present a putter that allows the golfer to putt by gliding the sole of the putter head on the ground for a long distance as much as the green condition permits. As might be clear in the foregoing statement, the putter in the present invention is particularly suitable for smooth, well-maintained, and fast greens when the golfer putts by the T-P method.

Sometimes, a golfer may have to putt under high pressure for such a short distance as three feet or less that he can make it easily in normal circumstances. Putting with the putter head on the ground would reduce the golfer's tension significantly. The putter in the present invention is a highly suitable choice for putting with the putter head on the ground.

As described in the foregoing, the present invention is the result of intensive study and practice of putting by the T-P method by the present inventor, and relates to a putter that is quite suitable for such putting by the T-P method. The putter in the present invention is featured in that at least 50% in area of the surface of the sole of the putter head consists of low friction material such as Teflon, silicone resin, polyethylene, etc. The low friction material here is the material that shows coefficient of friction with the green surface lower than such materials as metal, enameled metal, etc. which are commonly used as the sole of the putter on the market. Since the putting is a slow motion act, the coefficient of friction can be of static friction. However, the condition of the green surface varies by the weather condition, maintenance condition, etc., comparison of physical data is not obtained easily. The present inventor, therefore, determined the choice of such material empirically from materials that are commonly used for lubrication in various applications. Therefore, it should be understood that the low friction material used for the putter of the present invention is not limited to those described in the foregoing but can be any solid material of which the coefficient of friction with the green surface is lower than those materials used for the sole of the putter currently on the market. The advantage in the use of such low friction material as Teflon on the surface of the sole of the putter head for putting by the T-P method is in two ways. Firstly, it is advantageous in putting by gliding over the green. Secondly, it would minimize the distance control disturbance caused by unintentional sclaffing on the green when putting is carried out without gliding over the green. Of course, the putter of the present invention can also be used in the input-oriented conventional putting, but it is not necessary since in this case the golfer does not glide the putter head over the green and also the golfer's eyes are on the putter head at the impact and thus a chance of sclaffing is minimal. Therefore, it is believed that one has never previously conceived of the putter of which at least 50% of the surface area of the sole of the putter head is made of low friction material. Yet, the putter of the present invention is significantly effective in the target-oriented putting by the T-P method when the golfer putts by intentionally or unintentionally gliding the putter head over the green surface.

The low friction material that constitutes the sole of the putter in the present invention can be painted or fused as a layer (at least 10 mils thick, considering wear in use) on the metal base, or in the form of a solid sole piece for integrated structure of the overall putter head design. Or, it can be in a single piece combined with the face insert of the putter head. As long as the low friction material forms a smooth and slick surface of the putter head sole, it should function as desired when the golfer putts by the T-P method. Also, in case wear of the sole piece made of the low friction material would be the problem, it can be designed for easy replacement by snap-on or screw-on. This is a simple measure against wear, and is totally different from the sole plate insert for the functional adjustment of golf clubs including putters described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,848.

The function of the putter in the present invention can be confirmed easily by tentative coating of the sole of a putter on the market with any appropriate lubricant available. In the course of the present invention, for example, the present inventor tested such function by spraying Silicone Spray Lubricant (WD40 Company) over the sole of a mallet type putter (Monza Rossa of Taylormade). It was confirmed that the low friction sole of the putter head significantly eases gliding the putter head over the green for putting by the T-P method. With such coating it was possible to increase the putting distance for putting by gliding the putter head over the green. Unfortunately, such thin coat, however, wore off after several putting practices. Also, the carved logo and engraved marking on the sole surface caught the green surface in a few putting attempts.

Subsequently, the present inventor further tested the same function by gluing 1/32 inch-thick bondable Teflon sheet (Fluoro-Plastics, Inc., Philadelphia) with two liquid type epoxy adhesive (Pacer Technology, LLC, California) on the same putter as used in the previous testing. Prior to gluing, the sharp edge of the Teflon sheet was rounded by filing such that it would not catch the green surface. Again it was confirmed that the low friction sole of the putter head significantly eases gliding the putter head over the green for putting by the T-P method.

Finally, in order to minimize the disturbance by small undulation of the green surface during putting by gliding over the green, the putter head in the present invention should preferably be at least 2 inches wide (namely, at least 2 inches from the flat face of the putter head to its rear end of which the shape could vary) in the form of the so-called mallet type rather than of the blade type. Also, the edge between the face and the sole should be rounded to the extent the golf rules permit. Furthermore, the low friction material does not have to cover the whole area of the sole of the putter head, but it should cover at least the area with which the golfer makes the putter head contact with the green surface in order to make the putter function as desired. Such area would be at least 50% of the whole area of the putter sole. Also, it is a matter of course that any labeling, carved logo, engraved marking, etc. should be minimized in the surface area with which the golfer makes the putter head contact the green surface in order to avoid impeding smooth glide of the putter head on the green surface. 

1. Putter of which at least 50% by the area of the surface of the sole of the putter head is covered by low friction material.
 2. Said low friction material in the claim 1 is Teflon.
 3. Said low friction material in the claim 1 is silicone resin.
 4. Said low friction material in the claim 1 is polyethylene. 